Pearls On Wheels

This morning we set off from San Luis Obispo on the last day of this stage of the journey to Patagonia. We have arrived safely in the City of Angels. This has been an extraordinary 60 days in my life. Without Dick's loving encouragement I would not have begun this journey. He has exceptional planning and riding skills and always focuses on the important things. I have learned many things during our weeks in the wilderness and in the desert. It has been an inward journey as well as an outward journey. Our own Outward Bound experience. The highlight has been the people I have met on the way. Every little conversation is an essential part of this journey. The deep personal sharing has been a blessing. We are taking a 2 week break to go back to New Zealand. We will be on the road again on 10 September. Day 60 begins Fueling up Arriving at our hotel on Santa Monica Boulevard ... on the original Route 66. Along the way... Eucalypts Grasslands Ma

We rode out of Vancouver 28 June 2012. We rode into Los Angeles 26 August 2012 The decal with bold NZ on the white background brought us many a welcome wave. Perhaps it would do for the NZ flag. It was certainly recognised by most people. The Provinces we visited in Canada British Columbia The Yukon Alberta UNESCO world heritage sites in Canada Head-Bashed-in-Buffalo-Jump World Heritage Site Canadian Rocky Mountain World Heritage Site Jasper National Park, (Columbia We visited 4 National Parks in Canada Banff National Park Jasper National Park Kootenay National Park Kluane National Park We visited 10 States in the USA Alaska Montana Wyoming Idaho Colorado New Mexico Arizona Nevada Utah California We visited 17 National Parks in the USA. It was wonderful to be able to ride through the parks and to walk on well-planned walk ways with excellent interpretation materials on display. We knew we could go on many different hikes as we have done in New Zealand. Access is available to everyone

The Big Sur coastal highway. Location: Monterey to San Luis Obispo via the Big Sur, hwy 1: 221km, 18,503km so far

As we rode from Mariposa through the San Joaquin Valley and over the Coastal Sierras many scenes reminded me of Marlborough. Sun dried golden hills reminded me of the Wither hills in summer. Vast areas of grape vines lucerne crops, apple and cherry orchards. Tomatoes, garlic, salad greens, onions and corn we being harvested. Huge articulated trucks laden with tomatoes, garlic, and cartons of celery sticks roared up the highway. Great use is made of storing the snow melt in lakes and using it for irrigation. As a farmer's daughter I was especially interested to see the variety of crops being grown, the huge acreages and the cattle on what seemed to be very dry land. The background photograph on this blog is of the hills of 'Oakleigh Farm' where I was raised - along with crops, sheep and cattle - in Havelock, Marlborough. I played this traditional harvest hymn at Harvest Festival when I was the teenaged organist at St Peter's Anglican Church in Havelock. We p

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, There's a bright golden haze on the meadow, The corn is as high as an elephant's eye, An' it looks like its climbin' clear up to the sky. Oh what a beautiful morning, Oh what a beautiful day, I've got a wonderful feeling, Everything's going my way. All the cattle are standing like statues, All the cattle are standing like statues, They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by. But a little brown mav'rick is winking her eye. All the sounds of the earth are like music, All the sounds of the earth are like music, The breeze is so busy it don't miss a tree, And an ol' Weepin' Willer is laughin' at me. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Location: Mariposa to Monterey, California. 250km 18,282km so far